Illegal mining mafias behind the murder of Juan Fernández Hanco, environmental defender of the Tambopata Reserve

Juan Fernández Hanco, a defender of the Tambopata National Reserve, was shot dead by hit men, apparently hired by mafias made up of illegal miners who have been threatening his family for years, denounced his brother and coordinator of the Reserve Management Committee, Germán Fernández.

According to Germán, he was at his brother's home during an event when a guy arrived and shot him twice near the head. According to his version, it was two hit men who were in the place that night. Both were reportedly hired by people linked to illegal mining. “Those gentlemen are invaders. Hitmen hired by illegal miners. As long as illegal mining is in Nueva Arequipa, every day there will be deaths. This place should be declared an emergency. People die here every day,” he said.

But the murder of Fernández Hanco would be a warning to the family, since two weeks ago their sister was kidnapped by people linked to these illegal activities while she was in her family's farm. The situation is so serious that both Germán and his father have guarantees for their lives, but the victim did not have this protection. “They threaten me every day. They come to the door of my house and send shots in the air (...) I have always fought against illegal mining throughout the buffer zone, but there is no control there. There are cops who don't work, and that's why they can't get them out of there,” he added.

For the environmental defender, Victor Zambrano, president of the Management Committee of the Tambopata National Reserve, the situation in Madre de Dios is out of control, with no officials or authorities interested in offering any solution to the extractive activities that are preying on the Amazon forests. “Here is one more example of the indifference that exists. Illegal people want to legalize, and they treat them as if they were legal in La Pampa. Here, in Peru, we never find justice. We have to go to international bodies,” he explained.

According to the Peruvian Society of Environmental Law (SPDA), with the crime of Juan Fernández there are already 14 environmental defenders killed since the beginning of the pandemic. This figure brings together cases reported by indigenous organizations and the Peruvian State.

“The worrying thing about this situation is that Juan Julio is the third person environmental defender to be killed in Madre de Dios. The impunity with which illegals act in Tambopata continues to create a challenging and deadly context for those who seek to defend their lands and forests because they are their livelihoods, so their struggle will never stop,” said Luisa Ríos, regional coordinator of the SPDA in Madre de Dios.

TABLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENDERS

Following this bloody event, the Government pledged to promote a Round Table of Environmental Defenders in Madre de Dios, to articulate actions with authorities, indigenous organizations and civil society in order to promote safe environments for human rights defenders and reduce situations of risk.

This was reported by the Ministries of the Interior, Justice and Environment, in a joint statement after the assassination of environmental defender Julio Fernández Hanco became known.

The communiqué states that the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights (Minjusdh) took notice of the facts and made itself available to the victim's relatives. “Immediately, it coordinated with the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of the Interior, and other local authorities, for the initiation of relevant investigations and the prompt clarification of the facts,” the document adds.

The Ministry of the Interior (Mininter), for its part, through the Peruvian National Police (PNP), is collaborating with the work of the Public Prosecutor's Office in the proceedings arranged as part of the investigations into the death of the environmental defender.

UNMEASURED VIOLENCE

Public Eye in a special report collects data from Global Witness's “Last line of defense” study, which establishes that throughout 2020, 227 environmental defenders were killed in 22 countries around the world. Of this total, three-quarters of the attacks were reported in Latin America. That is, 165 people were killed in the region for defending their territory.

The countries with the most murders were Colombia (65), Mexico (30), the Philippines (29), Brazil (20), Honduras (17), Congo (15), Guatemala (13), Nicaragua (12) and Peru (6).

In the cumulative figures, Brazil is the country with the most victims, with 697 defenders killed from 2002 to 2020, followed by Colombia with 317 and the Philippines with 293. Peru reported 96 cases at that time.

Likewise, the report on 'Climate of Changes' by the Catholic University indicates that illegal mining and informal mining are estimated to have between 300,000 and 1 million people engaged in these activities, which are distributed throughout the country.

“Illegal mining in Peru is a phenomenon that is increasing every year and the State's actions against it are not enough, rather there is a lack of legal regulation and the lack of strategies. In this regard, the inaction of policies against illegal mining has meant that this illegal activity continues to increase and cause a delay in the care and protection of the environment, in addition to the violation of the rights of the people surrounding the projects”, he adds.

In countries such as Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia, there are large areas where illegal mining has preyed forests; created dredges; destroyed water sources; and poisoned soil and air because of highly toxic reagents that, without proper use, treatment and control, have had an incalculable impact on environment.

According to the Mongabay Portal, 2,312 sites with this illegal activity have been identified. Also, 245 unauthorized mining areas where gold, diamonds and coltan are mined.

In addition, government inaction, lack of political will or conflict of interest, has claimed countless lives in Madre de Dios, in addition to the predation of 100,000 hectares of Amazon rainforest, massive pollution, murders and labor and sex trafficking of persons. More than 2 billion euros worth of gold are illegally mined from this land every year.

KEEP READING